1. Field Of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for steam cooking food in the home, and more particularly to an electrically powered steam cooking appliance that may be left to boil dry without burning or emitting foul odors.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of steam cooking utensils and appliances has grown in recent years due to the ever growing health consciousness of the population. Cooking food by steam has numerous attributable nutritional benefits. For example, valuable minerals are retained in foods such as vegetables if they are steamed in contrast to being cooked by other conventional means, such as boiling.
Food steaming is well known, and until recently was performed by placing food on racks inside generally conventional stovetop cooking utensils. Such utensils generally took the form of large saucepans or the like, with loosely fitted gravity-closed covers.
The above method for steam cooking food is disadvantageous in that the cooking utensil occupies a burner on the stove which otherwise might have been used for some other cooking utensil. Further, it requires heating substantially the entire cooking utensil to the temperature of boiling water, before steaming could begin. This is wasteful in terms of time, since the user must wait for the whole vessel to come to temperature in addition to waiting for the food to cook thereafter. Further, it is wasteful in terms of energy, since the entire heat capacity of the cooking utensil has to be radiated with heat in order to vaporize a generally small amount of water.
In recent years, the advent of the electric steaming appliance has proven advantageous over the above mentioned stovetop cooking utensil. The electric steaming appliance generally includes a base portion having a water reservoir and an electric heating element so as to generate steam, typically through boiling, from water which is contained within the water reservoir. Provided in the typical electric steaming appliance is at least one food tray which is typically provided with a perforated bottom wall, whereupon food would be disposed. Steam generated from the electric heating element effectively cooks the food disposed on the perforated wall of the food tray and any condensed water arising from the steam passes through the perforated wall of the food tray and returns to the water reservoir in the base portion.
However, the above mentioned electric steaming appliance is disadvantageous in that the perforated bottom wall of the food tray permits the condensed steam which contacts the food, food juices or food drippings, to return to the water reservoir. The condensed steam or food juices are then boiled again causing foul odors to be emitted from the electric steaming appliance. Moreover, if the electric steaming apparatus boils dry, food matter carried by the condensate or food drippings may bake on the water reservoir surface causing further foul odors while also making the cleaning of the water reservoir a difficult chore.
Thus, there presently exists a need to provide a steam cooking appliance which may be left to boil dry without the emission of foul odors.